Environmental education of the elderly – towards an active, inclusive and trust-based ecosystem

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to develop a proposal for an Active, Inclusive and Trust-Based Framework of Environmental Education of the Elderly. It is based on the concept of environmental education, active and healthy ageing as well as generativity, and also takes into account trust in sources of environmental knowledge. In the course of quantitative research (n = 401) carried out among Poles 55+ in order to validate it, the perception of environmental issues, the awareness of and motivation for undertaking pro-environmental actions, and the credibility of sources of knowledge about environmental behaviour were examined. Elderly individuals in Poland express their belief in the need to take care of the natural environment. They are afraid that maintaining the status quo will cause permanent damage to the environment. In their opinion, pro-environmental behaviour is necessary to save the planet. These key conclusions have confirmed the correctness of the assumptions about the need for environmental education of the elderly, leading primarily to their environmental activation. Varied assessments of the credibility of sources of environmental knowledge indicate the need to assign them adequate priorities in the environmental education of the elderly. Our findings have important implications for shaping non-formal environmental education of seniors.